The planned full takeover of Hili Properties plc (HLI) by its parent company may explain why the recent suspension of its managing director failed to move the market, leading stockbroker Edward Rizzo has suggested.

Last week, Hili Properties announced the suspension of its Managing Director Georgios Kakouras pending the outcome of an internal investigation, without providing further details.

Daniela Pavia, who has been CFO at Hili Properties since 2020, was appointed interim CEO pending the outcome of the investigation.

However, these developments didn’t impact the market, with HLI continuing to trade at 24c per share.

HLI's market value over the past month, Image: rizzofarrugia.com

Speaking to WhosWho.mt, Mr Rizzo attributed the lack of movement to Hili Ventures’ ongoing full buyback of HLI’s issued share capital.

“One should not expect any major movement in Hili Properties shares (HLI) simply due to the fact that Hili Ventures are buying back this stock at 24c and therefore those shareholders still having a position can easily sell their shares at 24c,” he explained.

In fact, Hili Ventures announced last week that they exceeded 90 per cent of the issued share capital in their subsidiary company.

Equity in Harvest Technology plc, another public subsidiary of Hili Ventures, was also unmoved by the leadership change at Hili Properties.

Mr Kakouras had also served as CEO of Harvest until last month, when he was replaced by its Chief Financial Officer, Neacail Micallef as Interim CEO.